Wallace Aliifua Rank (born March 1, 1958) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. A 6'6"

guard-forward A swingman is an athlete capable of playing multiple positions in their sport. Basketball In basketball, the term “swingman” (a.k.a. “wing” or “guard-forward”) denotes a player who can play both the shooting guard (2) and small forw ...

, Rank played college basketball for

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

from 1977 to 1980. He scored 1,432 points in his college career and set a school record for points in a game when he tallied 40 against

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

on January 3, 1980. In 1980, Rank was selected by the

San Diego Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

with the 99th pick of the

1980 NBA draft The 1980 NBA draft was the 34th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 10, 1980, at the Sheraton Centre Hotel & Towers, before the 1980–81 season. In this draft, 23 NBA teams took turns selecti ...

. He played 25 games for the Clippers during the

1980–81 NBA season The 1980–81 NBA season was the 35th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship, beating the Houston Rockets 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. As of 2022, this was the last t ...

, scoring 55 points. He later played for Sacramora Rimini in Italy and

Great Taste Coffee Makers The Great Taste Coffee Makers were a basketball team that played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) from 1975 to 1992. It was one of the founding members of the PBA, the Asia's first and oldest professional league. The franchise was ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Rank is a Samoan American, and played for the

Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

national basketball team at the 1993

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...

championship.Mike Reilley.
For Murphy, It's Jungle Out There - Basketball: UC Irvine assistant coaches Western Samoa national team to a gold medal at Oceania championships
. ''Los Angeles Times''. July 17, 1993. Retrieved on June 30, 2009.

References

External links

at the National Pacific Islander Educator Network {{DEFAULTSORT:Rank, Wally 1958 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Samoan descent Basketball players from California Basket Rimini Crabs players People from Carson, California People from Fort Ord, California Philippine Basketball Association imports Samoan men's basketball players San Diego Clippers draft picks San Diego Clippers players San Jose State Spartans men's basketball players Shooting guards Small forwards Great Taste Coffee Makers players